Editorial: Hill no party-pooper

Posted: Sunday, November 17, 2002

DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS in Georgia who are fussing and fuming about their former party colleagues going Republican don't know Jack -- as in Jack Hill. He's the state senator from Reidsville who became the fourth Democratic senator to announce that he's switching parties.

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, a Democrat who has a job next year, and House Speaker Tom Murphy, a Democrat who doesn't, have criticized party jumpers such as Mr. Hill, as if they were radicalized by the GOP victories at the polls.

Here's a quick portrait of the radical Mr. Hill. He's 58. He's been running a grocery store in his hometown for 33 years. He's married to an elementary school principal. Politically, he leans moderate to conservative, like many people in his mostly rural, south Georgia district -- like many Southern Democrats do. These are the same Democrats who believe that the national party leadership has strayed too far from its core values.

Mr. Hill's switch was rooted in honesty, friendship and pragmatism. He and Georgia's governor-elect, Republican Sonny Perdue, are close friends. They've roomed together in an apartment in Atlanta during sessions of the General Assembly and they've shared office space. Mr. Perdue, in fact, says that Mr. Hill is someone "I would trust my wife and my wallet with." Such closeness transcends politics. It's easy to understand why Mr. Hill would feel closer to the party of Perdue, a former Democrat, than the party of Taylor and Murphy. To claim to be a Democrat on the outside, while being Republican on the inside, would have been dishonest.

The senator was also thinking about his constituents back in the 4th District. Before Mr. Hill's switch, the GOP had a 29-27 Senate majority and controlled legislation. But most of the Republican senators came from suburban areas. Senators who represent rural districts were legitimately concerned that their issues wouldn't make it to the table.

By changing parties, Mr. Hill fixes that problem -- and gives the GOP a 30-26 lead in the chamber. He's no longer a minority voice crying in the wilderness. Instead, he's a player when the GOP sets its legislative agenda.

And frankly, many Georgia voters go with the person, not the party, on Election Day. That's especially true in smaller communities, where most people tend to know one another. Mr. Hill's district is about evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. He got 56 percent of the vote on Nov. 5 against a Republican challenger. It's a fair bet that many of his supporters voted to send him to the Senate for the sixth time because they agree with his positions, not because of his party label.

Mr. Hill said the new governor, who lives south of Macon, is committed to rural Georgia. Those are Mr. Hill's people, too. By joining the GOP, he will be better able to serve his district than had he remained with the minority party.

That's not opportunism. That's working for the people who sent him to Atlanta to do a job. And being true to himself.